HEAD OF THE CLASS : USC Valedictorian Finds Key to Success Is a Mix of Academics, Athletics

In the morning, Brian Paul Scottoline either runs six or seven miles or swims 5,000 yards. After that, he’s ready to take on the rest of the day in school, where he’s nearly flawless.

Scottoline, 22, of Anaheim, has registered a 3.99 grade-point average on his way to being selected valedictorian at USC’s 104th commencement ceremony Friday.

“I don’t consider myself any different than anyone else. I just work hard and try to keep a good balance of things,” Scottoline said in an interview Wednesday.

For him, a good balance means athletics and academics.

“The Greek idea of a good scholar was to keep sound mind and sound body,” the 6-foot-2, 170-pound senior said.

Scottoline was competing for the valedictorian honor with a few other seniors who had registered 4.0 grade-point averages during their academic careers, but his nearly flawless grades, speaking ability and record of community involvement on and off campus made him the likely choice, according to Robert L. Mannes, dean of student life and head of the selection committee.

Scottoline will address a class of 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

On campus, Scottoline has been involved in the biology honors program, and he participated on the swimming team in the 1983-84 and 1984-85 school years.

He was a member of two academic organizations and received the Phi Beta Kappa Award for service to USC.

Off campus, Scottoline spent two summers as a volunteer in the burn ward of the UCI Medical Center in Orange.

The biological studies major grew up in Orange County and graduated in 1983 from Canyon High School in Anaheim.

Scottoline said that this fall he plans to begin the seven-year medical scientist training program at Stanford University, which is funded by the National Institute of Health and leads to an MD and a Ph.D in molecular biology.

“I would like to accomplish important research in molecular and genetic medicine,” Scottoline said. “There are thousands of genetic diseases such as sickle cell, Alzheimer’s disease and muscular dystrophy where the defect is in the DNA of the patient.”

He said he would like to be a pioneer in this developing field. “In the 1940s organ transplant was still in the research stage.”

He said he expects to be a part of molecular and genetic medicine when it is firmly established “20 or 30 years from now.”

Scottoline is no stranger to being valedictorian. In high school he was the scheduled speaker, but he decided to go to Washington, where he was one of 144 high school students who received a presidential scholarship from President Reagan for outstanding achievement.

During his college career, though, being selected valedictorian has been the highlight.

From his talks with students on campus, Scottoline said he has learned that “they don’t want to hear a speech about how they are the future of the world.”

“They seem to want to know what they can learn from my speech.”

Scottoline said he will emphasize “balance” in life in his speech and will cite his own experiences as an athlete and student. He will also recite the poem “The Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost.

Scottoline is the youngest of three children. He has a sister, Lisa, 23, and a brother, Gary, 24. His father, Charles Scottoline, is an engineer at Rockwell International in Downey and received master’s degrees in engineering and business from USC. His sister graduated in 1985 with a business degree from USC.